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Karen Roach/ShutterstockAutomated portfolios are more professional than you may think.By Dana Anspach

Do you have a 401(k) plan? If so, read on. Here are seven things I wish people knew about their 401(k) plans:

1. You can rollover when you leave. When you leave your employer, you can transfer your 401(k) plan to an individual retirement account -- and it is not a taxable event. This type of transfer is called a rollover. Many 401(k) participants think that any type of distribution from their 401(k) plan is taxable and subject to penalties. That isn't true.

All plans allow rollovers to an established IRA account. Usually the check is made payable to the new financial institution as the custodian, with an "for benefit of," or FBO, to you. If you have a few 401(k) plans from former employers, I'd advise consolidating them into one IRA account. It will make it far easier to handle address and beneficiary changes, manage investments, and track distributions once you are retired.

2. Automated portfolios work. Most 401(k) plans today offer either a fund choice or an online interactive tool that will make the investment decisions for you. These types of automated portfolios are great choices. If it is a single fund, it may have a retirement year in the name of the fund, such as "Target-date 2030." In that case, pick the fund that corresponds with the approximate year you think you may retire. A single fund like this is a complete diversified investment that automatically allocates your money across many asset classes.

If it is an online tool, take the time to walk through the steps and it should pick the portfolio for you. This type of system often results in something like "conservative, moderate, or moderately aggressive" as a result. Using such a tool delivers a complete professionally designed portfolio.

These automated portfolios make far better choices than the random way many participants pick investments -- which often seems more akin to "eeny meeny miny moe."

3. Stable value funds are a good choice. As you get closer to retirement, you'll want some of your retirement money in a safe investment option. Stable value funds, which are offered within many 401(k) plans, are a good choice. Today they are paying higher interest rates than bank savings. They won't fluctuate like stock funds, and unlike bond funds, they shouldn't go down in value if interest rates rise.

How much should you keep in such a safe choice? It depends on how close you are to retirement and how much you'll need to withdraw. For example, if you are retiring in two years, and know you'll need to withdraw $20,000 a year once retired, you ought to consider moving at least your first two to three years of future withdrawals into a safe investment option. In this example, that would be $40,000 to $60,000.

4. Age 55 is special. Most people think that if they take a withdrawal from a 401(k) plan before age 59½, a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty tax will apply. This isn't always true for 401(k) plans. There is a special provision in 401(k) plans for people who leave their employer after they reach age 55, but before they reach age 59½. This rule allows you to take withdrawals that are exempt from the penalty tax without having to use the substantially equal payment provision.

Beware of someone who suggests you roll funds from a 401(k) to an IRA without first explaining the age 55 provision to you. Once you move funds from your 401(k) to your IRA, the age 55 penalty-free withdrawal provision no longer applies, and you'll have to wait until age 59½.

5. You have creditor protection. Your 401(k) plans are creditor-protected by law. This is why it can be foolish to use 401(k) money to avoid foreclosure, pay off debt or start a business. In the case of future bankruptcy, your 401(k) money is a protected asset. Don't touch your 401(k) money except for retirement.

6. Designated Roth accounts are great. More and more 401(k) plans are offering the ability to make Roth contributions. In a 401(k) plan, this is called a designated Roth Account. Such contributions, unlike a regular 401(k) contribution, are not tax-deductible, but they grow tax-free, and in retirement, your withdrawals will be tax-free.

There are many people who would be better off making Roth contributions, but they don't consider it because they just assume they are better off getting a deduction today. This is not always true. Check to see if your plan offers a Roth option, and if so talk to your certified public accountant, tax preparer, or other financial adviser to see which choice they think would be best for you.

7. Company stock may have special tax treatment. If your 401(k) plan has an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, within it, and you own a lot of company stock, a special tax rule may apply to you. This tax rule is referred to as net unrealized appreciation, or NUA. At retirement, it enables you to distribute company stock and only pay ordinary income tax on the cost basis of the stock. Then, as you sell the stock off, you can typically pay tax on the gain at the capital gains tax rate, which is lower than the ordinary income tax rate.

If the NUA tax rule applies to you, that doesn't automatically mean it will be to your benefit. But you ought to at least run an analysis to see if it would save you money. I've seen cases where using the NUA tax rules saved tens of thousands of dollars, and other cases where it offered no meaningful benefit. You won't know unless you look.

Dana Anspach, certified retirement planner, retirement management analyst, Kolbe Certified Consultant, is the founder of Sensible Money, a registered investment adviser with a focus on retirement income planning based in Arizona. She is the author of "Control Your Retirement Destiny," writes for About.com as its Expert on MoneyOver55 and contributes to MarketWatch as a RetireMentor.

Have you ever heard of the 30-day rule? As a frugal guy, this is one of my favorite rules in spending. If you’re about to spend any more than $20 on something that is unnecessary, don’t. Instead, put the item down and wait 30 days to buy it. You’ll be amazed at how much money you save by not making unnecessary frivolous purchases.

I literally mean freeze your credit cards. It seems a bit extreme, but think of it this way. The average credit card comes with a 13 percent or higher interest rate. By simply not using credit cards as often, you’ll save a ton. So, get a plastic sandwich bag and put your credit cards in it. Fill it with water, zip it up and throw it in the freezer. Without easy access to those tempting pieces of plastic, you probably won’t use them as much. However, they’ll still be around -- in an emergency, you can retrieve them from the ice.

Have you ever looked around your house, seen a few items and thought, “I could have made that!” You probably could have. The only thing is, you didn’t. Instead you paid for it. From now on, before you buy something you think you can make on your own, give it a shot. I saved a little over a hundred bucks about two weeks ago. I needed a new bird cage for my fiancé’s doves. Instead of buying a cage for $200, I made one that was far bigger for less than $80.

Did you know that a clean air filter in your car can lead to 7 percent more fuel efficiency? That means at current gas prices, with a clean air filter, you’ll save about $100 a year, if you drive the average 10,000 miles.

How often on the way home from the office do you want to stop for a convenient quick meal? You’ve had a long day, and it feels justified. But it costs much more than a home-cooked meal. The answer is your slow cooker. Use it to prepare your meal in the morning on days you know will be rough. This way, you can skip the fast food and rush home to an already ready home-cooked meal.

Do you pay a maintenance fee for your bank account? Why? Tons of banks offer checking and savings accounts without them. Look to your local credit union or even switch to an online bank. When comparing your options, also look at the interest you can earn. Currently, I get about 3 percent on checking and about 3.4 percent on savings, but who knows what kind of great deals you can find?

I’ve had tons of options to sign up for customer rewards programs and I was just too busy. So, I didn’t sign up. Then one day, I realized that I was paying for rewards I wasn’t getting. The cost of the rewards obviously trickles down to the end consumer. So, if the end consumer doesn’t take part, he or she loses money in the process. Since I’ve signed up for every reward program around me, I’ve saved at least 20 or 30 bucks a month in rewards.

Intro to different retirement accounts

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Doc

That's it. Bottom line, you can lose your money. All the talk about better rates go right out the window when base is not secure. 401k was never a good idea, it was just another way to take you to the cleaners, nothing more.